Artificial Intelligence - General News

Fraser Cain has recently uploaded a video on YouTube to do with his concerns with AI and whether or not its progress should be slowed down:


This is an unusual interview for my channel. It's mostly about AI, our current developments and the threats it poses to us.
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Guest: Dr. Roman Yampolskiy
https://scholar.google.com/citations?...https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbWpnMFZXRU5vV1dtUDdhM2FnRjEzc0VGdnk3UXxBQ3Jtc0tubHUza3k2NDZnS2ZzZmJoMG1xSHphLXFOcUdESUpzZzJYV0xtZVVONlJ3S25IYUhNMkU3Y1puQTNScDlKcTFWSmM1U0ZPdWF3TVZiei0wbE9pY0p5UXNRQ0lQYkxjRnA2QWg4UzFYQXlWUVNsd1ZQMA&q=https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/1198440-universe-today-book-club&v=A4M3Q_P2xP4
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00:00 Intro
01:51 Arrival of LLMs
06:30 Alignment of AI
17:35 Existential dangers
18:58 The Pause AI movement
23:47 Safety
32:42 Wake-up calls and red lines
39:12 Possible response
41:43 AI as part of evolution
44:25 Simulation hypothesis and the Fermi Paradox
49:52 How to get involved
51:48 Current obsessions
57:19 Final thoughts
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A nuclear reactor at the notorious Three Mile Island site in Pennsylvania is to be activated for the first time in five years after its owners, Constellation Energy, struck a deal to provide power to Microsoft’s proliferating artificial intelligence operations.
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Constellation closed the adjacent but unconnected Unit 1 reactor in 2019 for economic reasons, but will bring it back to life after signing a 20-year power purchase agreement to supply Microsoft’s energy-hungry data centers, the company announced on Friday.
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The restart, the first time a nuclear reactor in the US has been recommissioned after closure, will send an additional 835 megawatts of power to the Pennsylvania grid, create 3,400 jobs and contribute at least $16bn to the state’s economy, Constellation said.
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There will also be a comprehensive safety and environmental review by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission before it issues a permit for the restart of the reactor, which is scheduled to be online sometime in 2028. Constellation said it would seek licenses that will extend plant operations to at least 2054.
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www.theguardian.com

Three Mile Island nuclear reactor to restart to power Microsoft AI operations

Pennsylvania plant was site of most serious nuclear meltdown and radiation leak in US history in 1979
www.theguardian.com www.theguardian.com
 
Via Slashdot:
www.yahoo.com

Microsoft taps Three Mile Island nuclear plant to power AI

The data centers that train the large language models behind AI consume unimaginable amounts of energy, and the stakes are high for big tech companies to ensure they have enough power to run those plants. The tech giant on Friday signed a major deal with nuclear plant operator Constellation...
www.yahoo.com www.yahoo.com

From Reuters:
 
Grey Havoc said:
Via Slashdot:
www.yahoo.com

Microsoft taps Three Mile Island nuclear plant to power AI

The data centers that train the large language models behind AI consume unimaginable amounts of energy, and the stakes are high for big tech companies to ensure they have enough power to run those plants. The tech giant on Friday signed a major deal with nuclear plant operator Constellation...
www.yahoo.com www.yahoo.com

From Reuters:
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From the Reuters article.

Microsoft has also signed a power purchase agreement with Washington-state fusion company Helion, which says the plant will be online by 2028, far earlier than many scientists say fusion will become commercial.
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Flyaway said:
www.theguardian.com

Three Mile Island nuclear reactor to restart to power Microsoft AI operations

Pennsylvania plant was site of most serious nuclear meltdown and radiation leak in US history in 1979
www.theguardian.com www.theguardian.com
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Good news especially given that modern server-farms especially the ones running AI are massive power-hogs on the other hand I won't be surprised if the reactivation of this nuclear power-plant will bring all of the local Greenpeace anti-nuclear Luddites out of the woodwork.
 
I am going to walk you through some advanced AI magic and bring you up-to-speed on state-of-the-art boundary-pushing when it comes to generative AI. It is a bit of a mystery story too.

In this column, I will showcase something that is on the outskirts of everyday generative AI and primarily experimental in advanced AI labs. It is an approach that leverages multiple chain-of-thought processing and incorporates AI-based meta-reasoning. Some believe that this might be an essential ingredient or secret sauce of the new o1 generative AI model, and, by the way, the future for leading-edge generative AI.
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www.forbes.com

Speculation Brims That OpenAI o1 Leverages Multiple Chain-Of-Thought And Meta-Reasoning

There is speculation aplenty that OpenAI o1 new generative AI might be leveraging multiple chain-of-thought and meta-reasoning as its secret sauce. Here's the skinny.
www.forbes.com www.forbes.com
 
Oh, great
gizmodo.com

London Newspaper Plans to Revive Dead Art Critic With AI, Lays Off Real Writers

One of London's biggest newspapers is resurrecting a famous editorial personality via algorithm.
gizmodo.com gizmodo.com

In the news
techxplore.com

As LLMs grow bigger, they're more likely to give wrong answers than admit ignorance

A team of AI researchers at Universitat Politècnica de València, in Spain, has found that as popular LLMs (Large Language Models) grow larger and more sophisticated, they become less likely to admit to a user that they do not know an answer.
techxplore.com techxplore.com
techxplore.com

Replacing hype about AI in journal articles with accurate measurements of success

The hype surrounding machine learning, a form of artificial intelligence, can make it seem like it is only a matter of time before such techniques are used to solve all scientific problems. While impressive claims are often made, those claims do not always hold up under scrutiny. Machine...
techxplore.com techxplore.com
phys.org

How large language models are changing collective intelligence

Within teams, organizations, markets and online communities, ideas from a larger group can help to solve complex problems. Large language models (LLMs) are emerging as powerful tools to unlock even greater potential. Picture an online forum where thousands of voices contribute to a solution, and...
phys.org phys.org
techxplore.com

ChatGPT's rise linked to decline in public knowledge sharing on online Q&A platforms

A new study published in PNAS Nexus reveals that the widespread adoption of large language models (LLMs), such as ChatGPT, has led to a significant decline in public knowledge sharing on platforms like Stack Overflow. The study highlights a 25% reduction in user activity on the popular...
techxplore.com techxplore.com
techxplore.com

Research team develops hardware architecture for post-quantum cryptography

Integrating post-quantum security algorithms into hardware has long been considered a challenge. But a research team at TU Graz has now developed hardware for NIST post-quantum cryptography standards with additional security measures for this purpose.
techxplore.com techxplore.com
techxplore.com

Don't believe the hype: Artificial general intelligence is far from inevitable, researchers say

Will AI soon surpass the human brain? If you ask employees at OpenAI, Google DeepMind and other large tech companies, it is inevitable. However, researchers at Radboud University and other institutes show new proof that those claims are overblown and unlikely to ever come to fruition. Their...
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techxplore.com

How AI is improving simulations with smarter sampling techniques

Imagine you're tasked with sending a team of football players onto a field to assess the condition of the grass (a likely task for them, of course). If you pick their positions randomly, they might cluster together in some areas while completely neglecting others. But if you give them a...
techxplore.com techxplore.com
phys.org

Quantum research paves the way toward efficient, ultra-high-density optical memory storage

As our digital world generates massive amounts of data—more than 2 quintillion bytes of new content each day—yesterday's storage technologies are quickly reaching their limits. Optical memory devices, which use light to read and write data, offer the potential of durable, fast and...
phys.org phys.org
phys.org

Logic with light: Introducing diffraction casting, optical-based parallel computing

Increasingly complex applications such as artificial intelligence require ever more powerful and power-hungry computers to run. Optical computing is a proposed solution to increase speed and power efficiency but has yet to be realized due to constraints and drawbacks.
phys.org phys.org
phys.org

Hexagonal magnetic defects could lead to energy-efficient neuromorphic computing

Artificial intelligence applications are experiencing a boom and expected to be mainstream technologies in the near future. However, these applications run on classic computing hardware and are extremely power-hungry.
phys.org phys.org
phys.org

Physicists achieve strong coupling of Andreev qubits via microwave resonator

Physicists from the University of Basel have succeeded in coupling two Andreev qubits coherently over a macroscopic distance for the first time. They achieved this with the help of microwave photons generated in a narrow superconducting resonator. The results of the experiments and accompanying...
phys.org phys.org
phys.org

How higher-order interactions can remodel the landscape of complex systems

Networks, which include nodes and connections, can help researchers model dynamic systems like the spread of disease or how the brain processes information.
phys.org phys.org
techxplore.com

Computing scheme accelerates machine learning while improving energy efficiency of traditional data operations

Artificial intelligence (AI) models like ChatGPT run on algorithms and have great appetites for data, which they process through machine learning, but what about the limits of their data-processing abilities? Researchers led by Professor Sun Zhong from Peking University's School of Integrated...
techxplore.com techxplore.com
phys.org

Security protocol leverages quantum mechanics to shield data from attackers during cloud-based computation

Deep-learning models are being used in many fields, from health care diagnostics to financial forecasting. However, these models are so computationally intensive that they require the use of powerful cloud-based servers.
phys.org phys.org
phys.org

Study shows virtual reality may help pedestrians and cyclists avoid harmful pollutants

Physics-informed virtual reality could be key to reducing the exposure of pedestrians and cyclists to harmful, non-exhaust vehicle emissions, according to a study published 25 Sep in the Royal Society Open Science journal.
phys.org phys.org
techxplore.com

AI model beats CAPTCHA every time

A trio of AI researchers at ETH Zurich, Switzerland, has modified an AI-based, picture-processing model to solve Google's reCAPTCHAv2 human-testing system.
techxplore.com techxplore.com
phys.org

Will AI one day win a Nobel Prize?

Artificial intelligence is already disrupting industries from banking and finance to film and journalism, and scientists are investigating how AI might revolutionize their field—or even win a Nobel Prize.
phys.org phys.org

More
techxplore.com

Apple unveils Depth Pro, an AI app that can map the depth of a 2D image

A team of engineers at Apple has developed an AI-based model called Depth Pro that can map the depth of a 2D image. The team has written a paper describing the app and its capabilities and has posted it on the arXiv preprint server. They have also posted an announcement regarding the app on the...
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techxplore.com

Ordered defects enhance solution-deposited semiconductors enabling larger high-performance displays

Standard manufacturing techniques for semiconductor devices—the technologies that make electronics possible—involve processing raw materials at high temperatures in vacuum vessels. This fundamentally limits manufacturing efficiency and scalability.
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techxplore.com

The dangers of voice cloning and how to combat it

The rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI) has brought both benefits and risk.
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techxplore.com

Study addresses challenges in digital animation of coiled hair

We have grown accustomed to seeing many aspects of our everyday world depicted using computer graphics, but some phenomena remain difficult for even the most experienced animators. Hair, specifically the highly coiled hair that is most common to Black characters, remains a notoriously difficult...
techxplore.com techxplore.com
 
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The Nobel Prize in Physics has been awarded to two scientists, Geoffrey Hinton and John Hopfield, for their work on machine learning.
British-Canadian Professor Hinton is sometimes referred to as the "Godfather of AI" and said he was flabbergasted.
He resigned from Google in 2023, and has warned about the dangers of machines that could outsmart humans.
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www.bbc.co.uk

Geoffrey Hinton and John Hopfield share Nobel Prize for work on AI - BBC News

Two scientists share the Nobel Prize for Physics for their work on machine learning.
www.bbc.co.uk www.bbc.co.uk

Here’s the related interview:

View: https://youtu.be/MGJpR591oaM?si=xfWlJR2Et0sQfjA9
 
Less power needed
techxplore.com

Integer addition algorithm could reduce energy needs of AI by 95%

A team of engineers at AI inference technology company BitEnergy AI reports a method to reduce the energy needs of AI applications by 95%. The group has published a paper describing their new technique on the arXiv preprint server.
techxplore.com techxplore.com

Computers in the news
techxplore.com

New algorithm helps read QR codes on uneven surfaces

Sometimes, we try to capture a QR code with a good digital camera on a smartphone, but the reading eventually fails. This usually happens when the QR code itself is of poor image quality, or if it has been printed on surfaces that are not flat—deformed or with irregularities of unknown...
techxplore.com techxplore.com
 
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In 1995, American talk show host David Letterman did a now-iconic interview with Microsoft founder Bill Gates, where he asked him to explain this "internet thing".

"What the hell is that exactly?" Letterman cheekily asks, in a time where the internet was taking off.

Gates attempts to explain emails and how revolutionary the internet is — before Letterman says that when he heard you can watch a baseball game live on the internet: "I just thought to myself, does radio ring a bell?"

Letterman may have been deliberately flippant, but the interview was also telling about how people hadn't yet understood how profoundly the internet would transform our lives.

That's where we are now with generative artificial intelligence, according to Commonwealth Bank's chief executive Matt Comyn.

"It is fair to say that whilst there is certainly potential with AI, it will take some time before we will be sufficiently confident that we can control for all the risks to be able to manage that safely at scale," Mr Comyn noted at the bank's annual general meeting in October.
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tech.slashdot.org

White House Orders Pentagon and Intel Agencies To Increase Use of AI - Slashdot

The White House is directing the Pentagon and intelligence agencies to increase their adoption of AI, expanding the Biden administration's efforts to curb technological competition from China and other adversaries. From a report: The edict is part of a landmark national security memorandum...
tech.slashdot.org

It would seem that the Biden Administration has still no clue of the difference between Generative A.I. / LLMs and true Artificial Intelligence. Not to mention that they seem to be in extreme denial that the so-called Age of Woke (what used to be called the Age of Political Correctness once upon a time) is rapidly coming to a close.
 
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Oh, that’s going to get Jill Stein’s bowels in an uproar

This week in computers

Computing and Electronics


AI and fairness
 
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Grey Havoc said:
tech.slashdot.org

White House Orders Pentagon and Intel Agencies To Increase Use of AI - Slashdot

The White House is directing the Pentagon and intelligence agencies to increase their adoption of AI, expanding the Biden administration's efforts to curb technological competition from China and other adversaries. From a report: The edict is part of a landmark national security memorandum...
tech.slashdot.org

It would seem that the Biden Administration has still no clue of the difference between Generative A.I. / LLMs and true Artificial Intelligence. Not to mention that they seem to be in extreme denial that the so-called Age of Woke (what used to be called the Age of Political Correctness once upon a time) is rapidly coming to a close.
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Professional bettors and the attitude of investors have already decided what is going to happen.
 
So have professional scammers...

Scammers, rejoice. OpenAI's real-time voice API can be used to build AI agents capable of conducting successful phone call scams for less than a dollar.

There have been concerns that letting AI models interact with convincing, simulated voices might lead to abuse. OpenAI in June delayed its advanced Voice Mode in ChatGPT, which supports real-time conversation between human and model, over safety concerns. This was after OpenAI demonstrated a voice that sounded like celebrity Scarlett Johansson, only to withdraw it after an outcry that the mimicry was done without her consent.
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https://www.theregister.com/2024/10/24/openai_realtime_api_phone_scam/
 
Is AI everything that it's made out to be? Not according to Linus Torvalds, the creator of Linux and its enduring chief spokesperson: in his view, the tech is "90 percent marketing and ten percent reality." Ouch.
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…

"I think AI is really interesting and I think it is going to change the world," Torvalds said in a portion of the interview which recently went viral. "And at the same time, I hate the hype cycle so much that I really don't want to go there."
"So my approach to AI right now is I will basically ignore it," he continued, "because I think the whole tech industry around AI is in a very bad position and it's 90 percent marketing and ten percent reality."
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futurism.com

Creator of Linux Trashes AI Hype

Linux creator Linus Torvalds dismissed the AI industry as "90 percent marketing" and bemoaned its "hype cycle."
futurism.com futurism.com
 
Wasn’t this always a highly likely outcome and makes you wonder if there really is that much future in the current way of going things in the field.

Over the weekend, The Information reported that with each new flagship model, OpenAI is seeing a slowdown in the sort of "leaps" users have come to expect in the wake of its game-changing ChatGPT release in December 2022.
This slowdown seems to test the core belief at the center of the argument for AI scaling: that as long as there's ever more data and computing power to feed the models — which is a big "if," given that firms have already run out of training data and are eating up electricity at unprecedented rates — those models will continue to grow or "scale" at a consistent rate.
Responding to this latest news from The Information, data scientist Yam Peleg teased on X that another cutting-edge AI firm had "reached an unexpected HUGE wall of diminishing returns trying to brute-force better results by training longer & using more and more data."
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futurism.com

OpenAI Reportedly Hitting Law of Diminishing Returns as It Pours Computing Resources Into AI

It seems that OpenAI has hit the wall when it comes to computing power for its much-hyped large language models (LLMs).
futurism.com futurism.com
 
Microsoft and NASA have a new AI tool to put satellite data at your fingertips

The space agency has built a custom artificial intelligence-powered copilot, called Earth Copilot, using Microsoft’s Azure OpenAI Service, the tech giant announced on Thursday. NASA’s copilot aims to make data collected by the space agency, such as information on wildfires and climate change, more accessible to the general public, scientists and educators, and policymakers. The new system lets users ask questions about NASA’s satellite data in plain English, similar to chatting with a virtual assistant.
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qz.com

Microsoft and NASA have a new AI tool to put satellite data at your fingertips

NASA's Earth Copilot will give users access to weather and climate data collected by the space agency
qz.com qz.com
 
Computer advances

AI struggles with math

Smartphones in space
techxplore.com

Engineers transform smartphones into instruments for studying space

That ordinary smartphone in your pocket could be a powerful tool for investigating outer space. In a new study, researchers at Google and CU Boulder have transformed millions of Android phones across the globe into a fleet of nimble scientific instruments—generating one of the most detailed maps...
techxplore.com techxplore.com
 
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Computer aids to visualization and other findings:

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